SEATTLE — In an exclusive interview with Brad Inman, Zillow Group Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson talks about listing syndication, the controversy over agent matching tools, Zillow’s acquisition of Trulia, and News Corp.’s acquisition of realtor.com operator Move Inc.
Before Zillow hired Samuelson last year, he was Move’s chief strategy officer and president of realtor.com. But not long after taking on his new role, he ended up on the sidelines, hands tied by a preliminary injunction issued in an ongoing lawsuit filed by Move and the National Association of Realtors.
A lot has happened since Samuelson was forced to go on leave in July — Zillow closed its acquisition of Trulia in February, and now both sites are scrambling to secure direct listing feeds from brokers and MLSs before Move-owned ListHub shuts off feeds to the sites on April 7.
With the injunction expiring on March 22, Samuelson’s back at work at Zillow’s Seattle headquarters in the nick of time. Although he’s got his work cut out for him, he took time out during his first week back on the job to talk not only about big-picture industry issues, but what he did with his personal time in recent months when he was barred from working for Zillow.
